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EDPro's best books of 2004
Sunday, December 26, 2004 Here's a list of the best books I came across in 2004: The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki: Like The Tipping Point, this book will open your eyes to the emerging power of networks. The Price of Government by David Osborne and Peter Hutchinson: The authors raise and answer some important questions about how we can think about innovation in government. Taxes too high? Chances are we are working with outdated government structures and attitudes. They start with a compelling proposition: We should focus on buying results for citizens. Finding Fertile Ground by Scott Shane: Written by the academic director of our center, this book provides an insightful approach to understanding entrepreneurship. EDPros have long put entrepreneurship as relatively low priority in their strategies. This bias extends to the economics profession, where few text books handle the topic well. Read more. In the years ahead, though, effective EDPros will become far more adept at building entrepreneurship and innovation networks. The Future of Competition by C.K. Prahalad and Venkat Ramaswamy: The emergence of networks changes the way corporations create value. A useful follow-on to The Experience Economy by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore. (Gilmore is a Cleveland resident and is working with our center.) Pine and Gilmore argue that we are moving toward a profound shift in the way corporations create value. The Power of Impossible Thinking by Jerry Wind and Colin Crook: A report on research conducted at the Wharton School about how leaders can change mental models. Many of the challenges we face in economic development come down to changing how people think: their cognitive frameworks. At REI we have been working of developing tools that EDPros can use to help reframe people's thinking about the future of their community. Too often, people drive into the future by looking in the rearview mirror. This book fits nicely with the next one. Changing Minds by Howard Gardner: A leading psychologist summarizes how the revolution in cognitive science -- which has gained momentum since the 1990s -- provides insights into how people change their minds. Although the labels are a bit clunky at times, Gardner gives some useful examples of how leaders, like Margaret Thatcher, worked to change people's minds. You can listen to an interview with Gardner from National Public Radio here. Appreciative Leadership by Jack Ricchiuto: Written by a consultant to our center, this short volume provides powerful insights into the type of leadership skills that EDPros need in a networked economy. (You can download the book for free.) Appreciative Leadership offers a different perspective on Appreciative Inquiry, an approach to organizational change developed at Case by my colleague, David Cooperrider. David has used Appreciative Inquiry in widely different contexts, and we are working to adapt this approach to regional economic development. Learn more about Appreciative Inquiry by exploring this Case web site. The Power of Productivity by Willam Lewis: A former head of McKinsey's Global Institute explores why relative productivity matters in a global world. A bit dense, but if you are interested in the evolving global economy, this book provides valuable insights. (You can get a summary of the book here.) The Creative City by Charles Landry: This book, originally written in 2000, has been revised. It provides useful tools and examples to make cities more creative places. The important insight is that arts and culture are not "add-ons" to economic development, but they can become key economic drivers. Unlike Richard Florida's work, Landry (whose book came out 2 years before The Creative Class) focuses on the practical aspects of design and implementation. Landry's work has been widely embraced in the UK, but he has not yet found an audience in the U.S. (Toronto, however, has been embracing Landry's work.) Deliberation Day by Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin: The authors propose a common sense, but radical idea for transforming our electoral process. The approach relies on the technique of deliberative discussion, an effective way to engage a diverse public. This approach provides valuable lessons for EDPros confronting strategic planning. Deliberative discussions provide the basis for large scale interventions with a group of people who do not know each other. We experimented with this format in October at Case. As one of sixteen campuses across the country, we conducted Deliberation Day for MacNeil Lehrer Productioons. Learn more. Economic development happens in the "civic space", and EDPros need some practical tools for improving the quality of civic interations. Deliberative discussions provide one approach. Unique Value: Competition Based on Innovation Creating Unique Value edited by Chuck Weller. This book, edited by another professional working with our center, includes several chapters by Michael Porter who amplifies his theories of competition. This work underscores the importance of innovation and productivity to competitiveness. The book also illustrates how inductive theories of dynamic systems are displacing the deductive theories of classical economics. You see this displacement in the emergence of "cluster theory" as a strategic framework for regional economic development. Planet Broadband by Rouzbeh Yassini: This little book provides a good explanation of why broadband matters. posted by Ed Morrison | |
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